Best WordPress Translation Plugins for Multilingual Sites

Translating your WordPress website into other languages is a great way to reach a wider audience. It can be an intimidating process, though, particularly if your site has a lot of content to translate or you don’t have access to a team of translators (and who does?). That’s where WordPress translation plugins come in.

Plugins can help you translate your site manually or use machine translation services. There are pros and cons to both approaches and it’s important to understand what these are so you can decide the best approach to take.

In this article, we’ll help you decide whether to use human or machine translation to make your site multilingual. Then, we’ll introduce you to the best plugins you can use for either approach. Let’s get to it!

Best WordPress Translation Plugins: Quick Comparison

If you already understand how translations work in WordPress and what features you need in a plugin, you’ll want to jump straight to the data. Here’s a quick comparison of the best WordPress translation plugins:

Now, if you want to know more about some (or all) of those plugins, keep reading.

Human vs. Machine Translations: Which Method Is Better?

The answer to this question is that it depends on who you ask. Professional translators can do a better job of understanding context, idioms, and subtleties between languages that machine translations might not be able to pick up on.

Having said that, the landscape of machine translation has shifted a lot during the past few years. AI-powered tools have made significant strides in aspects of machine translation, such as understanding context.

Machine translations might not be able to match the quality or domain expertise of professionals yet, but they offer one incredible advantage, and that is low costs. Hiring professionals to translate your website is out of the question for most website owners. 

If your site has a large library of content, you can easily spend thousands of dollars paying for translation services. If you choose to skimp on price, you also run the risk of ending up with poor translations (and maybe not even noticing it).

The cost of machine translations is comparatively minimal. To put that into perspective, translating 100,000 words (the equivalent of a long novel) using Google’s Cloud Translation API would come out to around $10.

At a rate of $0.09 per word, which is on the low end for a professional translator, those 100,000 words would cost you around $9,000. Human translation might be clearly superior, but that’s a moot point if you can’t afford it.

If at all possible, consider hiring a professional translator for key pages on your site. If you have an online service website, for example, you’ll want the pricing and service pages to be translated perfectly. For other types of content, machine translation can suffice and still provide a good user experience.

What Are .po Files in WordPress Translations?

Depending on which WordPress translation plugins you use, you may see references to .po files or Portable Object files. There are human-readable text files that include localization information for software.

WordPress components like themes and plugins use .po files to manage localization information. You can edit these files using specialized software, such as Poeditor, or you can use WordPress translation plugins to do it.

Some translation plugins focus on content. Others focus on helping you translate the plugins and files you use on your site, which means creating and editing .po files.

Here’s what that looks like using one of the plugins we’ll discuss in this article (see if you can identify which one based on the UI):

Although we bundle WordPress translation plugins together, it’s important to remember that distinction. A lot of this article is going to focus on translating content, but some of the plugins we’ll check out focus on .po files.

We’ll make that distinction clear for all the plugins we discuss. If you’re not interested in editing .po files and just care about content, you can safely ignore a couple of the plugins in this list.

How to Choose WordPress Translation Plugins

Using machine translation to make your website multilingual doesn’t mean copying and pasting everything into Google Translate and repeating that a thousand times over. Since we’re using WordPress, we have access to translation plugins.

There are several types of WordPress translation and multilingual plugins to choose from. Some plugins will automatically set up pages with different localization and leave you to translate things manually. Others connect your site with a translation service API and use the output of that process to recreate pages in other languages.

Other plugins offer a mix of machine and human translation methods. Depending on what tool you use, you might be able to do a rough translation using machines and then work with a professional to review that work. 

It’s also likely you’ll spend a decent amount of time interacting with the plugin, either to work on translations, review them, or tinker with your site’s multilingual settings. Choosing a plugin with a User Interface (UI) that’s not a pain to use can also be a smart option.

We’ll go over all of those factors for the plugins we’ll discuss in this comparison. Use that information to narrow your options and, if you have time, test the free versions of the plugins you’re interested in.

6 Best WordPress Translation Plugins

There are a lot of WordPress translation plugins to choose from. These six are suggestions we’re comfortable recommending for different types of projects.

Among these options, you’ll find plugins that support manual and machine translation and that offer very different experiences. When available, we’ll also link you to official demos for each plugin so you can take them for a quick test run and see how you like them. Now let’s get started.

1. Weglot

Weglot can automatically translate your website into over 100 languages and it does so while offering an intuitive UI. Plus, you can use the service to correct translations manually.

To use the plugin, you’ll need to set up a Weglot account and link it to your site. Once you activate Weglot, it’ll detect your site’s content and translate it into your choice of language:

Most of your time using Weglot will be spent on the platform itself. Here you can manage your translation projects, edit translations, monitor changes, and get access to analytics too:

Weglot offers one of the most polished experiences for translating WordPress websites among similar plugins. Note that the free plan is very limited. If you want to use Weglot for any serious project, you’ll need to opt for a premium license. 

Key features (free):

• Translate your website content into one language automatically (up to 2,000 words)
• Choose between visual and string-based translation editors
• Add a customizable language switcher to your site
• Collaborate on translations
• Redirect users to different languages based on their location

Key features (premium version):

• Translate your website into multiple languages, with the number depending on the chosen plan
• Translate more words, ranging from 10,000 to 5,000,000, based on the plan
• Access to professional translation services linked to Weglot
• Optimize translated pages for search engines
• Translate media content such as images and videos

Price: Weglot offers a ten-day free trial. During that trial, you can use Weglot to translate up to 10,000 words on one website. After that, you’re limited to 2,000 words per month for free.

Premium plans offer higher word caps for translations and they start at $17 per month for up to 10,000 words.

Try Weglot

2. TranslatePress

TranslatePress provides you with tools to translate your WordPress website without having to leave the dashboard. It’s a plugin oriented toward manual translation but also integrates with machine translation services.

Once you install the plugin, you’ll see an option to translate any page that you’re browsing in the admin menu. You can also access the translation editor from the dashboard, by navigating to the TranslatePress tab.

The plugin enables you to translate your site using an interface that looks like the classic WordPress Customizer:

After you add a target language in the TranslatePress settings, you’ll be able to select it while using this visual editor. The editor enables you to select each text string on any given page or post and enter a manual translation.

If you’d rather use automatic translations, TranslatePress enables you to connect the free plugin to Google Translate or DeepL. If you have a premium license, you also get access to the TranslatePress AI tool to translate your site’s content automatically.

Key features (free):

• Add one language to your website
• Translate your entire page directly from the front end
• Manually translate your website’s content
• Implement a customizable language switcher on your site

Key features (premium version):

• Add support for more languages to your site
• Translate page slugs, meta titles, descriptions, and social media information
• Redirect first-time visitors to specific languages based on their location
• Create translator accounts that allow users to translate content without accessing the WordPress backend
• View your site as a specific user role to check dynamic content translations
• Configure different menu items for different languages

Price: TranslatePress offers a free plugin and premium licenses. Subscriptions start at €99 per year (no monthly billing) for up to 50,000 words per month.

Try TranslatePress

3. WPML 

WPML enables you to create multilingual versions of the same post, page, taxonomy, menus, and widgets. Each type of element still appears as a single entry in your dashboard, but you can switch between languages to edit them as needed.

This plugin doesn’t offer a free version. With a premium license, you get access to tools for manual and automatic translation. WMPL offers its own translation tool, which combines different services including Google Translate and DeepL. 

WPML also enables you to add translators to your site using custom roles. These users will only be able to work on translations and not have access to any key website functions.

As a bonus, you can also use WPML to translate text in other plugins and themes and parts of the admin dashboard into different languages.

Key features (premium version):

• Translate pages, posts, custom post types, taxonomies, menus, and widgets
• Translate texts from themes and plugins directly from the WordPress admin area
• Use automatic translation services to speed up the process
• Assign custom translation roles to manage your team and their contributions
• Full support for WooCommerce, allowing translation of products, categories, and attributes
• Translate SEO meta data, including titles, descriptions, and slugs, to enhance search engine visibility

Price: WPML doesn’t offer a free version. The base €39 per year license only offers manual translation tools. If you want access to machine translation, you’ll need to opt for the Multilingual CMS plan, which starts at €99 per year (and supports up to three sites).

4. gTranslate

gTranslate is fairly different from most other WordPress translation plugins. This plugin doesn’t set any limitations on how many words you can translate using its free version. However, you can’t edit translations unless you pay for a premium license.

This helps to make gTranslate a fairly hands-off plugin. It doesn’t need much configuration beyond setting what languages you want to add, configuring the style of the widget, and letting Google Translate do its thing:

Since the free version of gTranslate doesn’t have a cap on words, it’s a good option if you’re on a budget. However, you also need to be comfortable with the idea of not being able to edit translations (unless you pay for the subscription). If you have pages with sensitive content or with carefully crafted Calls-to-Action (CTAs), you’ll probably want the option to edit translations.

Key features (free):

• Translate your website into over 100 languages using Google Translate (with no word limits)
• Add a customizable language switcher to your site for users to choose what version to see
• Support for languages with right-to-left scripts
• Translate WooCommerce shop content and elements

Key features (premium version):

• Generate search engine-friendly URLs for translated pages
• Access to higher-quality translation models
• Automatically revise translations over time
• Host translated versions of your site on subdomains or subdirectories
• Manually edit translations to ensure accuracy
• Translate WooCommerce emails
• Localize image files
• Monitor translation performance with integrated analytics

Price: The free version of gTranslate supports most languages and it doesn’t have a limit on how many words you can translate automatically. However, it also doesn’t let you edit translations manually or correct them, which can be problematic.

Premium licenses start at $9.99 per month (with a 15-day free trial) and they add support for manual translation and SEO tools, among other features.

5. Polylang

Polylang offers one of the best onboarding experiences for new languages among WordPress translation plugins. As soon as you activate the plugin, it launches into a wizard to start adding languages to the site:

After you set up a language, you’ll see a corresponding flag when you check out the post and page libraries. Clicking on that flag will enable you to set a manual translation for that language:

From there on, you just work on the translation using the Block Editor. If you’re partial to machine translation, you’ll need to buy a premium license to get access to that option.

Key features (free):

• Translate posts, pages, media, categories, tags, custom post types, and taxonomies
• Add a customizable language switcher as a widget or in the navigation menu
• Compatible with major SEO plugins to optimize multilingual content. 
• Add as many languages as needed

Key features (premium version):

• Integration with DeepL for automatic translations
• Use the Block Editor to place the language switcher and other language elements
• Translate slugs in URLs, custom post types, taxonomies, and more
• Better integration options with Advanced Custom Fields

Price: The free version of Polylang only supports manual translations and it works without limitations. If you want to use machine translations, you’ll need to opt for a premium license starting at €99 per year.

6. Loco Translate

Loco Translate is different from the other WordPress translation plugins we’ve talked about so far. This plugin is not geared toward the content on your site, but rather to plugins and themes.

Loco Translate enables you to translate these elements in WordPress so you can interact with them in other languages. If you find a theme or plugin you really like, but it’s not available in your language, you can use this plugin to translate it on your site:

The free version of the plugin supports manual translations with a cap of up to 2,000 words. That should be more than enough to translate the UI for a plugin or a theme or two. If you want to translate the strings automatically, you’ll need to opt for a premium license.

Key features (free):

• Built-in editor within WordPress admin to translate themes and plugins (up to 2,000 words)
• Integrates with multiple translation services, including DeepL and Google Cloud Translation
• Support for PO and MO files

Key features (premium version):

• Access to custom translation roles
• Automated integration with translation services
• Support for unlimited websites and languages
• Access to a revisions system

Price: The free version of Loco Translate supports up to 2,000 words and it can connect to automatic translation services. For larger projects, you’ll need to opt for a premium license, which comes with a monthly subscription. Subscriptions start at $5.95 per month for up to 5,000 words with the Pro plan. 

Conclusion

A lot of the most popular WordPress translation plugins share a lot of DNA. In a lot of cases, you get access to both machine and human translation tools. The biggest differences between plugins lie in their prices, word count limitations, and user experience.

Weglot and TranslatePress are the best all-around options for WordPress sites with large libraries of content. If you’re on a budget, gTranslate is a fantastic option (albeit with limited reviewing features) and Loco Translate could be your go-to for translating plugins and themes.

Do you have any questions about WordPress translation plugins and how to use them? Let us know in the comments section below!